Dialect Speakers Report Stronger Regional Social Identity Than non-Dialect Speakers in Sweden

Previous research on the relationship between language and social identity has mainly focused on national or ethnic groups. Here, we investigated this relationship at the intra-national level in Sweden by exploring whether regional social identity was stronger among dialect speakers compared to non-speakers, and how it varies across regions. Additionally, we examined the association of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) with regional social identity and dialect knowledge to measure individual differences that could be interlinked with social identity. Swedish residents ( N = 840) reported their regional identity, dialect knowledge, completed measures of regional social identity, and filled out the RWA and SDO scales. Results indicated that dialect speakers reported higher regional social identity than non-speakers. Regional social identity was higher in Norrland compared to Mid Sweden and Stockholm, but otherwise similar across the country. Regional social identity correlated positively with RWA, but in non-dialect speakers only, and negatively with SDO for all speakers. These findings suggest a correlation between dialect knowledge and regional social identity, but also that the relationship between regional social identity and RWA varies based on dialect knowledge, highlighting the complex interplay between language, identity, and personality.